Yucatan Peninsula (and Cozumel) Mexico August 2007

• This year we again spent our family holiday in the Caribbean, on an 'unintentional' twin centre break in Mexico...just prior to the arrival of Hurricane Dean we were evacuated to the mainland and didn't return from our second hotel for a week while our Cozumel hotel was repaired...John Yates reports

Mexico - Yucatan, 25th March - 9th April 2007

• I picked up a few new land birds during this time along, and adjacent to, the road to the golf course pools, adding a Yellow tailed Oriole to my life list and several sightings of Plain Chachalaca, including 5 together on 1 April on a building site, shortly to become another massive hotel...Bob Biggs reports.

Yucatan, Mexico 22/1-5/2 2007

• Our excellent guide showed us some species we just dreamt off when looking at them in the fieldguides, some species we had not even been thinking off. To mention a few Bare-throated Tiger Heron, Boat-billed Heron, American Oystercatcher, Marbled Godwit and Forster´s Tern...Lars Olausson reports.

South East Mexico, 15th-30th April 2006

• This is a report on a mixed birding and general sightseeing trip to South East Mexico, focusing on sites in the Yucatan Peninsula and Northern and Central Chiapas. The trip was planned to maximise birding time in the early mornings and then visit Mayan ruins later in the day. The final 4 days were spent on Isla Mujeres....Dave Lowe and Richard Rae report.

Yucatán and Chiapas, Mexico 12-26 March 2006

• A two-week trip combining birding with visiting Mayan and Spanish colonial sites.  We have given notes on the main birding sites visited, and the most interesting bird species seen rather than an exhaustive species list...Guy Anderson reports.

Riviera Maya, Yucatan Peninsula 9th - 23rd April 2006

• So 6 months on from the Hurricane how is the Yucatan looking? Evidence of Wilma is still present if you look hard enough. A lot of the under storey is now full of dead branches and foliage and some of the trees are still stripped bare and apparently dead. However the majority of the trees are now back in full leaf and flower....Steve Baines reports.

Cozumel: birding after hurricane Wilma Nov 2005 This is a short note for birders interested in birding Cozumel Island and wonder how the situation was shortly after hurricane Wilma hit Cozumel. Wilma was a slow-moving category 4 storm who raged on Cozumel for 24 hours. I visited Cozumel Island on 23-26 November 2005...Eduard Sangster reports

Mexico (Cancun, Coba, Playa Del Carmen, Puerto Morelos) 17th March - 30th March 2005

• Having arrived the night before and feeling fully rested, I began my search for birds at 6-00am. New birds in a new country are always exciting and my first species was Great Tailed Grackle which was displaying and calling. On the beach Magnificent Frigatebirds and Brown Pelicans passed almost constantly....David Ousey reports.

West-Central Mexico December 2004

• There is always something both peaceful and exciting about boating slowly through a marsh or swamp especially when stocked chock-a-block with terrific birds.  Both trips served up a very impressive array of water birds and most of them in sizeable numbers...Paul Prevett reports

Northern Mexico 20th April and 7th May 2004

• We attempted to see as many of northern Mexico's endemics as possible in the time available. The key species to see on this itinerary are the following regional endemics not found elsewhere: maroon-fronted parrot, red-crowned parrot, Tamaulipas pygmy-owl, tawny-collared nightjar, tufted jay, Altamira yellowthroat (though also in northern Veracruz), crimson-collared grosbeak and Worthen's sparrow.....Phil Benstead reports.

Southern Mexico 27th March – 16th April 2004 

• As soon as it got light, a couple of Caribbean Doves showed well as they fed on the track, and some tapping led me to a diminutive Yucatan Woodpecker, another regional endemic probably more readily found on Cozumel than anywhere else....Simon Allen reports.

Yuctán Peninsula 26 February to 16 March 2004

• By far the birdiest area was the tall, bromeliad-festooned forest right around the first group of ruins as you enter the archeological site. In less than one hour, here we saw Rose-throated Tanager, Rose-throated and Gray-collared Becards, Gray-throated Chat, Eye-ringed Flatbill, and many commoner species...Michael Kessler reports

Birding and Duding in Yucutan and Belize July 26th to Aug 31st 2003

• Rio Lagartos was perhaps our favourite place. Site of the asteroid impact that did for the dinosaurs 65 million years ago - not many people know that! - Hotel right on waterfront, terns, gulls, ibis, egrets all fly by constantly. After a hurricane two years ago it's now very wet all round town. Fantastic birding around and south of town. Boat-billed Herons can be seen behind the bus station!, and the fields were full of waders....Tim Allwood and Claire Stephenson report.

West Mexico ( Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco and Colima) and The Yucatan Peninsula (Yucatan and Quintana Roo)1st Feb to 2nd Mar 2003

• Mexico is a great place to go birding ... Highlights included many superb birds on Volcan de Nieve, with a spectacular backdrop and Barranca Rancho Liebre on the Durango Highway, which again is a spectacular place with so many great birds. Also the bird rich forest around Felipe Carrillo Puerto was very rewarding....Neil Osborne reports.

Southern Mexico January 2003

• After a year of little in the way of life birds, despite numerous trips, it was time to get serious and visit one of those places that would make a difference to my list hovering around the 1000 mark. Lots of possibilities then, but to tie in with Demi's desires, it had to be North America somewhere, so it was time to explore, ahem, Southern Mexico...Alex Kirschel reports

Mexico (Yucatán and Quintana Roo) 26 May – 3 June 2002

• This was our second trip to Mexico, having previously visited the area between Mexico City and Oaxaca two years ago.  We had just over a week available to us, and wanted somewhere where we could combine good birding with general tourist stuff, without having to do too much driving, and the Yucatán peninsula fitted the bill very well...Gruff Dodd reports

Click for more pre 2002 reports

Where to Watch Birds in Mexico Steve Howell, Sophie Webb (Illustrator): Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk Mexico is one of the best birdwatching destinations in the world. The country's species list comprises a wide range of resident birds and many migrants from South and Central America. This guide covers over 100 birdwatching sites from Baja California to the Yucatan Peninsula. Over 950 species can be seen including virtually all the endemics and regional specialities. as with other guides in this series. This book also provides information on travel, accessibility, location of species and when it is best to see them. There are also suggested itineraries for birding holidays in Mexico. Steve Howell co-authored "A Guide to the Birds of Mexico".

A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk This new field guide covers the 1070 bird species, including North American migrants, known to inhabit Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, and western Nicaragua. More than 180 species are endemic to this region. Richly illustrated with colour plates and additional black-and-white drawings, it describes the birds' appearance, voice, habitat, behaviour (including nests and eggs), and distribution. Introductory chapters give essential background information

A Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Adjacent Areas : Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador Ernest Preston Edwards, Edward Murrell Butler (Illustrator): Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk I hope you will agree this is the most "user-friendly" Mexican bird guide. It has gone through two major revisions, each time becoming more useful and helpful than before. (1) In my book, almost all of the illustrations (the "heart and soul" of a field guide) are better, in my opinion, than those in most other Mexican or Central American guides, (Comments by author)

Recommended travel books for Mexico

Lonely Planet: Mexico John Noble, et al: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk "Mexico is an experience that offers a multitude of cultures, cuisine, environments, handicrafts, art and history." This vast country covers an area of almost 2 million square km encompassing mountains, plains, deserts and beaches.."

Eyewitness Travel Guides 41: Mexico Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk This guide to Mexico features the country's best museums, beaches, ancient sites and churches and highlights information on food and fiestas, hotels, bars and restaurants. Organized district by district with a systematic, thematic approach this book provides information on sights in each area and features in each major sight to help you know what to look out for and how to make the most of your time.